Burners and additive manufacturing methods

ABSTRACT

Burners and methods of making burner bodies via a focused beam are disclosed. In an aspect, a burner includes (a) a burner body and (b) at least one connector configured to supply at least a fuel and an oxidizer to the burner body. The burner body includes (1) a plurality of passageways; (2) a first major surface; (3) a plurality of ports at the first major surface, each port defined by an end of one of the passageways; and either: (4a) at least one heating element in or adjacent to at least one of the plurality of passageways that increases the temperature of a wall of the at least one of the plurality of passageways; or (4b) a cooling chamber directly adjacent to three or more of the plurality of passageways. The burner body includes a number of layers of metal directly bonded to each other. Further, methods are provided, including receiving, by a manufacturing device having one or more processors, a digital object comprising data specifying a burner body; and generating, with the manufacturing device by an additive manufacturing process, the burner body based on the digital object. A system is also provided, including a display that displays a 3D model of a burner body; and one or more processors that, in response to the 3D model selected by a user, cause a 3D printer to create a physical object of the burner body.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure broadly relates to burners and additivemanufacturing methods for making such burners or portions of burners.

BACKGROUND

Flame treating is one of the surface modification technologies that isused to modify surfaces of polymeric films for increased wettability andadhesion promotion. FIG. 1 provides a schematic for a flame treatmentapparatus often used. More particularly, the apparatus 1000 includes afilm 110 passing through a nip roll 120 and a cooled metal backing roll130, and 5-10 millimeters below the film 110 wrapped under the backingroll 130 a ribbon burner 140 is disposed, directing a flame 150(generated from, e.g., fuel and an oxidizer provided into the ribbonburner 140 in the direction of the arrow) at a major surface 112 of thefilm 110.

Ribbon burners are by far the most widely used burner for industrialflame treatment. In comparison with other possible burner designs,ribbon burners are the most stable over a wide range of flame parametersand enable the highest flame powers per unit area of burner surface. Atypical ribbon burner is formed by tightly packing corrugated strips ofstainless steel into a casing or housing (e.g., the burner body) to formrows of somewhat elliptical ports. Into the 2000s, the primary ribbonburner design available to industry contained four rows of ports formedby stainless steel ribbons mounted in cast iron, steel, or brasshousings. The maximum flame power, or capacity, of these 4-port burnerswere limited to about 1150 W/cm of burner length and about 1040 W/cm² ofburner surface. By the mid-2000s, 6-port and 8-port burners consistingof stainless steel ribbons mounted in extruded aluminum housings wereavailable for industrial use. These burners have power capacities of upto 2300 W/cm and 1400 W/cm². As the total number of rows of portsincrease, the ribbon surface temperature increases, causing overheatingand warping of the central ribbons; this factor that eventually limitsthe number of usable rows of ports in ribbon burners.

A drawback to a ribbon burner is that at high powers, flames are lessstable, which can lead to decreased cross-web uniformity of flametreatment.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect, a burner is provided. The burner includes (a) aburner body and (b) at least one connector configured to supply at leasta fuel and an oxidizer to the burner body. The burner body includes (1)a plurality of passageways; (2) a first major surface; (3) a pluralityof ports at the first major surface, each port defined by an end of oneof the passageways; and either: (4a) at least one heating element in oradjacent to at least one of the plurality of passageways that increasesthe temperature of a wall of the at least one of the plurality ofpassageways; or (4b) a cooling chamber directly adjacent to three ormore of the plurality of passageways. The burner body includes a numberof layers of metal directly bonded to each other.

In a second aspect, a method of making a burner body is provided. Themethod includes sequential steps, including (a) a subprocess includingsequentially: (i) depositing a layer of loose powder particles in aregion, wherein the loose powder particles include metallic particlesand wherein the layer of loose powder particles has substantiallyuniform thickness; and (ii) selectively treating an area of the layer ofloose powder particles with irradiation by a focused beam to bondmetallic particles together. The method further includes (b)independently carrying out step (a) a plurality of times to generate aburner body comprising the bonded powder particles and remaining loosepowder particles, wherein in each step (a), the loose powder particlesare independently selected. The method also includes (c) separatingsubstantially all of the remaining loose powder particles from theburner body.

In a third aspect, a non-transitory machine-readable medium is provided.The non-transitory medium has data representing a three-dimensionalmodel of a burner body that, when accessed by one or more processorsinterfacing with a 3D printer, cause the 3D printer to create all orpart of the burner body. The burner body includes (1) a plurality ofpassageways; (2) a first major surface; (3) a plurality of ports at thefirst major surface, each port defined by an end of one of thepassageways; and either: (4a) at least one heating element in oradjacent to at least one of the plurality of passageways that increasesthe temperature of a wall of the at least one of the plurality ofpassageways; or (4b) a cooling chamber directly adjacent to three ormore of the plurality of passageways. The burner body includes a numberof layers of metal directly bonded to each other.

In a fourth aspect, another method is provided. The method includes (a)retrieving, from a non-transitory machine-readable medium, datarepresenting a 3D model of a burner body; (b) executing, by one or moreprocessors, a 3D printing application interfacing with a manufacturingdevice using the data; and (c) generating, by the manufacturing device,a physical object of the burner body. The burner body includes (1) aplurality of passageways; (2) a first major surface; (3) a plurality ofports at the first major surface, each port defined by an end of one ofthe passageways; and either: (4a) at least one heating element in oradjacent to at least one of the plurality of passageways that increasesthe temperature of a wall of the at least one of the plurality ofpassageways; or (4b) a cooling chamber directly adjacent to three ormore of the plurality of passageways. The burner body includes a numberof layers of metal directly bonded to each other.

In a fifth aspect, a burner body is provided, generated using the methodof the fourth aspect.

In a sixth aspect, a further method of forming a burner body isprovided. The method includes (a) receiving, by a manufacturing devicehaving one or more processors, a digital object comprising dataspecifying a plurality of layers of a burner body; and (b) generating,with the manufacturing device by an additive manufacturing process, theburner body based on the digital object. The burner body includes (1) aplurality of passageways; (2) a first major surface; (3) a plurality ofports at the first major surface, each port defined by an end of one ofthe passageways; and either: (4a) at least one heating element in oradjacent to at least one of the plurality of passageways that increasesthe temperature of a wall of the at least one of the plurality ofpassageways; or (4b) a cooling chamber directly adjacent to three ormore of the plurality of passageways. The burner body includes a numberof layers of metal directly bonded to each other.

In a seventh aspect, a system is provided. The system includes (a) adisplay that displays a 3D model of a burner body; and (b) one or moreprocessors that, in response to the 3D model selected by a user, cause a3D printer to create a physical object of the burner body. The burnerbody includes (1) a plurality of passageways; (2) a first major surface;(3) a plurality of ports at the first major surface, each port definedby an end of one of the passageways; and either: (4a) at least oneheating element in or adjacent to at least one of the plurality ofpassageways that increases the temperature of a wall of the at least oneof the plurality of passageways; or (4b) a cooling chamber directlyadjacent to three or more of the plurality of passageways. The burnerbody includes a number of layers of metal directly bonded to each other.

Burners made using additive manufacturing processes can be fabricatedwith precise burner port dimensions that can stabilize flames at highpowers, which can improve cross-web uniformity of flame treatment andenables flame treatment of materials at higher processing speeds.Moreover, more complex burner designs can more readily be created viaadditive manufacturing than using traditional burner formation methods(e.g., welding, machining, etc.), easily incorporating features such ascooling chambers and heating elements into the burners.

The above summary is not intended to describe each embodiment or everyimplementation of aspects of the inventions. The details of variousembodiments are set forth in the description below. Other features,objects, and advantages will be apparent from the description as well asthe appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a flame treatmentapparatus according to prior art, including a ribbon burner.

FIG. 2A is a schematic partial perspective view of an exemplary burnerbody including a cooling chamber, preparable according to the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2B is another schematic partial perspective view of the exemplaryburner body of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 is a schematic partial perspective side view of an exemplaryburner body including a heating element, preparable according to thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 is an SEM image using secondary electron imaging of an interiorportion of a burner body according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is an SEM image of an interior portion of a burner body accordingto prior art.

FIG. 6 is a schematic process flow diagram of a method of making aburner body according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective cross-sectional view of an exemplaryburner body including a passageway with two portions each having a bend,preparable according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of an exemplary burner bodyincluding an asymmetrical pattern of ports, preparable according to thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 9A is a schematic top view of an exemplary burner body includingports having a rounded rectangular shape, preparable according to thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 9B is a schematic top view of an exemplary burner body includingports having a star shape, preparable according to the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 9C is a schematic top view of an exemplary burner body including 10rows of ports, preparable according to the present disclosure

FIG. 10 is a schematic top view of an exemplary burner body includingports having a square shape, preparable according to the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 11A is a top view of an exemplary port structure of a burner body,preparable according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 11B is a top view of another exemplary port structure of a burnerbody, preparable according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 11C is a top view of an additional exemplary port structure of aburner body, preparable according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a generalized system 1200 for additivemanufacturing of an article.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a generalized manufacturing process for anarticle.

FIG. 14 is a high-level flow chart of an exemplary article manufacturingprocess.

FIG. 15 is a high-level flow chart of an exemplary article additivemanufacturing process.

FIG. 16 is a schematic front view of an exemplary computing device 1600.

Repeated use of reference characters in the specification and drawingsis intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements ofthe disclosure. Drawings may not be to scale. It should be understoodthat numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised bythose skilled in the art, which fall within the scope and spirit of theprinciples of the disclosure. The figures may not be drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides metal burners and methods of makingmetal burners. The methods include additive manufacturing methods, whichhave advantages over traditional methods, such as being able to makeunique shapes that are not possible to make by machining and weldingmetal.

Glossary

Certain terms are used throughout the description and the claims that,while for the most part are well known, may require some explanation. Itshould be understood that:

As used herein, “alloy” means a metal made by combining two or moremetallic elements. As used herein, a “nickel alloy” means an alloyincluding nickel and one or more other metallic elements, thusencompasses a “nickel chromium alloy” as well as a “nickel chromium ironalloy”.

As used herein, “component” means an element, compound, polymer,species, or material.

As used herein, “fuel” means a component that produces heat or powerwhen burned.

As used herein, “oxidizer” means a component that causes oxidation ofanother component during a combustion process.

As used herein, “non-oxidizer” means a component that does not causeoxidation of any other component during a combustion process.

As used herein, “non-combustible” means a component that is not a majorparticipant in a combustion reaction, although the component may beaffected by combustion physically (e.g., change of state (such assoftening, melting, evaporating, or sublimating) or change of shape(such as spheroidization or agglomeration)), and/or chemically (e.g.,change of chemical phase (such as conversion from alpha to gamma),conversion to glass, nucleation, crystallization, or chemicaldecomposition and/or synthesis). By “major participant” is meant thatthe component makes up more than 50 volume % (vol. %) of the totalcomponents that participate in a combustion reaction, thus a componentthat is not a major participant makes up less than 50 vol. %, 40 vol. %or less, 30 vol. % or less, 20 vol. % or less, or 10 vol. % or less ofthe total components that participate in a combustion reaction.

As used herein, “passageway” means a space defined by at least one wall,which has an aspect ratio of length to diameter of 1:2 or greater, 1:1,2:1, 3:1, 5:1, 7:1, 10:1, 25:1, 50:1, or 100:1 or greater. A suitablepassageway may be provided by a tube.

As used herein, “port” means an open end of a passageway, defined by amajor surface of an article, such as a burner body.

As used herein, “chamber” means an enclosed space or cavity defined byone or more walls. The chamber typically has at least one opening foraccess of a material to the chamber.

As used in this specification and the appended embodiments, the singularforms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the contentclearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to layerscontaining “a metal” includes a mixture of two or more metals. As usedin this specification and the appended embodiments, the term “or” isgenerally employed in its sense including “and/or” unless the contentclearly dictates otherwise.

As used in this specification, the recitation of numerical ranges byendpoints includes all numbers subsumed within that range (e.g. 1 to 5includes 1, 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3, 3.8, 4, and 5).

Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities oringredients, measurement of properties and so forth used in thespecification and embodiments are to be understood as being modified inall instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless indicated to thecontrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the foregoingspecification and attached listing of embodiments can vary dependingupon the desired properties sought to be obtained by those skilled inthe art utilizing the teachings of the present disclosure. At the veryleast, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine ofequivalents to the scope of the claimed embodiments, each numericalparameter should at least be construed in light of the number ofreported significant digits and by applying ordinary roundingtechniques.

Various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure will now be describedwith particular reference to the Drawings. Exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure may take on various modifications and alterationswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.Accordingly, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the presentdisclosure are not to be limited to the following described exemplaryembodiments, but are to be controlled by the limitations set forth inthe claims and any equivalents thereof.

In a first aspect, a burner is provided. The burner includes (a) aburner body and (b) at least one connector configured to supply at leasta fuel and an oxidizer to the burner body. The burner body includes (1)a plurality of passageways; (2) a first major surface; (3) a pluralityof ports at the first major surface, each port defined by an end of oneof the passageways; and either: (4a) at least one heating element in oradjacent to at least one of the plurality of passageways that increasesthe temperature of a wall of the at least one of the plurality ofpassageways; or (4b) a cooling chamber directly adjacent to three ormore of the plurality of passageways. The burner body includes a numberof layers of metal directly bonded to each other. Suitable connectorsinclude, for instance, screw and thread connectors, and/or pipes ortubes attached to the burner body either through welds, compressionfittings, threaded connectors, or by being integrally formed with theburner body during an additive manufacturing process.

More particularly, referring to FIGS. 2A-2B, an exemplary burner 2000includes (a) a burner body 200 and (b) at least one connector 290configured to supply at least a fuel and an oxidizer to the burner body200. The burner body 200 includes a plurality of passageways 210; afirst major surface 220; a plurality of ports 230 at the first majorsurface 220, each port 230 defined by an end of one of the passageways210; and a cooling chamber 240 directly adjacent to three or more of theplurality of passageways 210. Typically, one or more of the passageways210 has the shape of a tube 211. In some embodiments, at least onepassageway splits into two or more passageways. In certain embodiments,two or more passageways combine into one passageway. Referring again toFIG. 2A, in some embodiments, a connector 290 is in the form of achamber through which at least the fuel and the oxidizer may be pumpedinto the passageways 210, entering through passageway openings 212. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the connector 290 includes an aperture 292to attach the fuel and oxidizer source to the connector 290.

In some embodiments, the cooling chamber is present in the burner body.Optionally, the cooling chamber 240 is located closer to the first majorsurface 220 of the burner body 200 than to an opposing major surface 250of the burner body 200. Such a location assists in providing cooling toareas closest to the flames anchored to the ports 230 at the first majorsurface 220 of the burner body 200. The cooling chamber 240 preferablysurrounds three or more of the plurality of passageways 210, 4 or more,5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, or more; and upto all of the passageways. An advantage of using one or more coolingchambers is that more passageways can be cooled by the same chamber, asopposed to using a cooling channel adjacent to just one or twopassageways. The cooling chamber design may thus provide some simplicityto the cooling process.

Referring to FIG. 3, another exemplary burner 3000 includes (a) a burnerbody 300 and (b) at least one connector 390 configured to supply atleast a fuel and an oxidizer to the burner body 300. The burner body 300includes a plurality of passageways 310; a first major surface 320; aplurality of ports 330 at the first major surface 320, each port 330defined by an end of one of the passageways 310; and at least oneheating element 380 adjacent to at least one of the plurality ofpassageways 310 that increases the temperature of a wall 315 of the atleast one of the plurality of passageways 310. The heating element 380may be readily attached to the wall of one or more passageways 310 viaadditive manufacturing processes when forming a burner body, either aninterior wall or, as shown in FIG. 3, an exterior wall 315 of apassageway 310.

In some embodiments, at least one heating element is present in theburner body. Optionally, the heating element(s) comprise a metal, aceramic, and/or a heating fluid (e.g., oil). When a heating elementcomprises a metal, the metal has a different thermal conductivity thanthe wall of the at least one of the plurality of passageways. In certainembodiments, the heating element is directly attached to the wall of theat least one of the plurality of passageways. A specific structure maybe included to increase heat transfer (e.g., individual posts to helptransfer more heat than just would be transferred by the passagewaywall). In some embodiments, the heating element includes at least oneheating coil. Suitable metals to use for the heating element include forinstance, silver, copper, gold, stainless steel, nickel, and nickelalloys.

Often, the metal of the burner body includes steel or a nickel alloy,preferably a nickel chromium alloy. Suitable metals include for instanceand without limitation, stainless steel, titanium alloys, nickel alloys,nickel chromium alloys, or nickel chromium iron alloys. A commerciallyavailable stainless steel can be obtained under the trade designationfrom Sandvik Osprey (Neath, United Kingdom). Exemplary commerciallyavailable nickel chromium alloys and nickel chromium iron alloys can beobtained under the trade designation INCONEL from American SpecialMetals, Corp. Specific alloys include INCONEL Alloy 600 (e.g., nickel(+cobalt): 72 wt. % minimum, chromium: 14-17 wt. %, iron: 6-10 wt. %,and small amounts of other elements); INCONEL Alloy 601 (e.g., nickel:58-63 wt. %, chromium: 15-21 wt. %, aluminum: 1-1.5 wt. %, iron:balance, and small amounts of other elements); INCONEL Alloy 22 (e.g.,chromium: 22-22.5 wt. %, molybdenum: 12.5-14.5 wt. %, tungsten: 3 wt. %,iron: 2-6 wt. %, cobalt: 2.5 wt. % maximum, nickel: balance, and smallamounts of other elements); INCONEL Alloy 617 (e.g., nickel: 44.5 wt. %minimum, chromium: 20-24 wt. %, cobalt: 10-15 wt. %, molybdenum: 8-10wt. %, iron: 3 wt. % maximum, and small amounts of other elements);INCONEL Alloy 625 (e.g., nickel: 58 wt. % minimum, chromium: 20-23 wt.%, iron: 5 wt. % maximum, molybdenum: 8-10 wt. %, niobium (plustantalum): 3.15-4.15 wt. % maximum, and small amounts of otherelements); INCONEL Alloy 690 (e.g., nickel: 58 wt. % minimum, chromium:27-31 wt. %, and iron: 7-11 wt. %, and small amounts of other elements);INCONEL Alloy 718 (e.g., nickel: 50-55 wt. %, chromium: 17-21 wt. %,niobium (plus tantalum): 4.75-5.5 wt. %, molybdenum: 2.8-3.3 wt. %,iron: balance, and small amounts of other elements); INCONEL Alloy 725(e.g., nickel: 55-59 wt. %, chromium: 19-22.5 wt. %, molybdenum: 7-9.5wt. %, niobium (plus tantalum): 2.75-4 wt. %, iron: balance, and smallamounts of other elements); INCONEL Alloy X-750 (e.g., nickel: 70 wt. %minimum, chromium: 14-17 wt. %, iron: 5-9 wt. %, titanium: 2.25-2.75 wt.%, and small amounts of other elements); INCONEL Alloy C-276 (e.g.,molybdenum: 15-17 wt. %, chromium: 14.5-16.5 wt. %, iron: 4-7 wt. %,tungsten: 3-4.5 wt. %, nickel: balance, and small amounts of otherelements); and INCONEL Alloy HX (e.g., chromium: 20.5-23 wt. %, cobalt:0.5-2.5 wt. %, iron: 17-20 wt. %, molybdenum: 8-10 wt. %, nickel:balance, and small amounts of other elements).

In some embodiments, just the burner body will be formed by additivemanufacturing, whereas in other embodiments one or more additionalelements of a burner or burner system will be formed by additivemanufacturing, as desired. Separate, combinable components may be formedand assembled, or multiple components may be formed integrally viaadditive manufacturing (e.g., burner body and connector). In certainembodiments, pilot holes for threaded connectors may be formed byadditive manufacturing, followed by mechanical addition of the threadsin the pilot holes following the additive manufacturing process.

Various design features are readily achievable using additivemanufacturing of a burner and/or burner body. For instance, referring toFIG. 7, in some embodiments, a burner 7000 comprises a burner body 700in which at least one of the plurality of passageways 710 b includes atleast one portion 713 each having a bend, preferably at least twoportions 713 and 715 each having a bend (e.g., forming an “S” shape).Other passageways 710 a in the same burner body 700 may be straight(e.g., lacking one or more bends). In some embodiments, a separateconnector 790 b may be provided configured to supply one or morecomponents to the passageways 710 b, such as at least one component thatis different from the fuel and oxidizer supplied to the passageways 710a through the connector 790 a. In certain embodiments, the burner bodyincludes a curve or a stepped shape 760 on a surface normal to the firstmajor surface 720. The ability to provide one or more bends in apassageway and/or one or more curves or stepped shapes providesadditional design freedom for exemplary burner bodies according to thepresent disclosure.

The design of the disposition of the plurality of ports on the firstmajor surface of the burner body is not particularly limited. In someembodiments, the location of the ports forms a pattern. Referring toFIGS. 11A-11C, in select embodiments, a pattern of the plurality ofports at the first major surface is symmetrical. Referring to FIG. 8, inother embodiments, a pattern of the plurality of ports 830 at the firstmajor surface 820 is asymmetrical. One example pattern, as shown in FIG.8, could include a higher density of ports in at least one location inwhich greater flame treatment (e.g., perforation) of a substrate isdesired, and a lower density of ports in at least one location in whichless flame treatment of the substrate is desired.

Typically, the first major surface of the burner body includes 2 or morerows of ports, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 or more rows of ports, andpreferably more than 8 rows of ports. For instance, FIG. 9C is aschematic top view of an exemplary burner body including 10 rows ofports. The number of rows of ports govern the maximum flame power atwhich stable flames are anchored on the ports. At higher powers than thesaid maximum flame power, the flames are unstable and lift-off from theburner surface. For example, maximum flame power for a ribbon burnerwith six rows of ports is 15,000 BTU/hr-in. of burner length (along themain axis of the ribbons); whereas the maximum flame power for a ribbonburner with eight rows of ports is 20,000 BTU/hr-in. of burner length.Operating at higher flame powers allows faster processing speeds for theflame treatments. The ribbon burner designs with more than eight rows ofports are not usable at high powers (>20,000 BTU/hr-in.) because atthese powers, the passageways connected to the middle ports getoverheated, which results in uneven port structure within different rowsof the ports. In contrast, in the case of certain embodiments accordingto the present disclosure, because of the cooling chamber surroundingthe passageways, the overheating of the middle passageways could beavoided, thus allowing the use of burners with more than eight rows ofports.

The shape of each of the ports is not particularly limited, due to thedesign flexibility of additive manufacturing. Any shape that is capableof anchoring a flame is contemplated. For example, referring to FIGS.8-10, and 11A-11C, in some embodiments, one or more ports each has acircular shape (FIGS. 8, 9C, 11A, and 11B), an elliptical shape (FIG.11C, a rectangular shape (e.g., a square, FIG. 10), a roundedrectangular shape (FIG. 9A), or a star shape (FIG. 9B). Moreover, incertain embodiments a passageway that ends in a port may have the sameshape as the port (e.g., a passageway may have a cross-sectionalgeometry of a rounded rectangle and end in a port having the shape of arounded rectangle). Any combination of these shapes may be employed forone burner body. In a ribbon burner, however, typicallyelliptical-shaped ports are readily employed.

In some embodiments, the passageways each have a length and a diameter,in which the diameter is constant throughout the length of each of thepassageways. A constant diameter may be useful, for instance, when aparticulate material is included in a gas (or gas mixture) and flowedthrough a passageway.

Burners according to the present disclosure are designed to support aflame, thus in use will pass at least a fuel and an oxidizer through thepassageways to form the flame(s). Suitable fuels include, for instanceand without limitation, propane, natural gas, and hydrogen. Suitableoxidizers include, for instance and without limitation, air and oxygen.The location(s) of these and other materials for use in the burner arenot particularly limited. For example, in some embodiments, a mixture ofat least fuel and oxidizer is disposed within a first passageway, andthe mixture flows through the first passageway to a first port. In someembodiments, a fuel is disposed within a first passageway and anoxidizer is disposed within a second passageway, and the fuel flowsthrough the first passageway to a first port and the oxidizer flowsthrough the second passageway to a second port.

In certain embodiments, a non-combustible and/or non-oxidizer componentis disposed within a third passageway, and the non-combustible componentflows through the third passageway to a third port. In selectembodiments, a non-oxidizer and/or non-combustible component is disposedwithin the first passageway, the second passageway, or both. Suitablenon-combustible components include, for instance and without limitation,ceramic materials, gases such as nitrogen, argon, and chlorine, andmetalloorganic materials. Suitable non-oxidizer components include, forinstance and without limitation, catalysts, NH₃ gas, organic vapors,hydrocarbons, and metals. Certain components are both non-combustibleand non-oxidizer components, such as ceramics, metal oxides, and gasessuch as nitrogen, argon, helium. wherein the burner body comprises aplurality of layers of metal directly bonded to each other

The burner body comprising plurality of metal layers formed usingadditive manufacturing (e.g., in a layer by layer manner), is indicatedby the formation of a “scalloping” artefact. Referring to FIG. 4, aportion of a metal burner is shown in a scanning election microscopeimage at a magnification of 1,500×. The metal burner was brokenperpendicular to the additive manufacturing build layers, and theirregular (e.g., generally oblong) outlines 410 in the image are thescalloping artefacts. This scalloping is in contrast to metal ribbonburners made by traditional methods, e.g., formed of stacks ofcorrugated metal. For instance, FIG. 5 is an SEM image at 1,500×magnification of a metal ribbon burner broken in a direction 90 degreesturned from the direction the metal burner in FIG. 4 was broken. Noscalloping is present in the ribbon burner.

Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that during layerby layer additive manufacturing of a metal burner from metallicparticles, heat from the focused beam melts some of the metallicparticles forming a molten pool, which transfers some of its heat tosolid metal directly underneath the molten pool and melts some of thesolid metal below it, thereby creating interlayer adhesion. When themolten pool solidifies, metal grains solidify in a certain orientation,which can differ grain to grain. The varying orientations can appear asscalloping. In contrast to formation by additive manufacturing, when ametal ingot, having been cast and solidified uniformly from a melt, isrolled into sheets and then stamped into a corrugated shape, the grainstructure is much more uniform, and there do not exist any artefactsindicating that different regions of the metal solidified from the meltat different times.

Advantageously, methods according to the present disclosure are suitablefor manufacturing various metal burner bodies that cannot be readily oreasily fabricated by other methods. For example, inclusion of internalvoids is possible as long as an opening to the exterior of the burnerbody exists for removal of unbonded loose powder. Accordingly, coolingchambers having tortuous and or arcuate paths can be readilymanufactured using methods of the present disclosure. Cooling chambersare open to the exterior of the burner body. In some embodiments, theyhave a single opening, but more typically they have two or moreopenings. A cooling medium (e.g., air, water or fluid) circulatesthrough the cooling chamber(s) to remove heat generated during use ofthe burner.

Methods of making a metal burner body according to the presentdisclosure include a common additive subprocess. The subprocesscomprises sequentially, preferably consecutively (although not required)carrying out at least three steps. Thus, in a second aspect, a method ofmaking a metal burner body is provided. The method includes sequentialsteps:

a) a subprocess comprising sequentially:

-   -   i) depositing a layer of loose powder particles in a region,        wherein the loose powder particles comprise metallic particles        and wherein the layer of loose powder particles has        substantially uniform thickness;    -   ii) selectively treating an area of the layer of loose powder        particles with irradiation by a focused beam to bond metallic        particles together;

b) independently carrying out step a) a plurality of times to generate aburner body comprising the bonded powder particles and remaining loosepowder particles, wherein in each step a), the loose powder particlesare independently selected; and

c) separating substantially all of the remaining loose powder particlesfrom the burner body.

Moreover, the method optionally further comprises d) post-processing theburner body, such as with a heat treatment. Many heat treatment optionswould be suitable, for instance and without limitation: heating theburner body to 1100° C., holding for 1 hour, then furnace cooling theburner body back down to room temperature or using a hot isostaticpressing operation.

FIG. 6 schematically depicts an exemplary additive manufacturing process100 used in making a metal burner body. In the first step, a layer 138of loose powder particles 110 from powder chamber 120 a with movablepiston 122 a is deposited in a region 140 in powder chamber 120 b withmovable piston 122 b. In certain embodiments, the loose powder particlescomprise metallic particles. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 6, theregion is a confined region, but it is not necessary for the loosepowder particles to be disposed in a confined region. For instance, amound of loose powder particles may be placed in a region larger in areathan that of the mound of particles.

The layer 138 should be of substantially uniform thickness. For example,the thickness of the layer may vary, such as 50 micrometers or less, 40micrometers or less, 30 micrometers or less, 20 micrometers or less, or10 micrometers μm or less. The layers may have any thickness up to about200 micrometers, as long as the focused beam can bind all the loosepowder where it is applied. Preferably, the thickness of the layer isfrom about 10 micrometers to about 200 micrometers, more preferablyabout 10 micrometers to about 50 micrometers, 10 μm to about 40 μm, or10 micrometers to 30 micrometers.

In order to achieve fine resolution, the loose powder particles arepreferably sized (e.g., by screening) to have a maximum size of 400micrometers or less, preferably 250 micrometers or less, more preferably200 micrometers or less, more preferably 150 micrometers or less, 100micrometers or less, or even 80 micrometers or less, although largersizes may also be used. A suitable minimum size is 10 micrometers, 20micrometers, or 30 micrometers. The metallic particles and any optionaladditional particulate components may have the same or different maximumparticle sizes, D₉₀, D₅₀, and/or D₁₀ particle size distributionparameters.

Methods of improving the powders include agglomeration, spray drying,gas or water atomization, flame forming, granulation, milling, andsieving.

Next, a focused beam 170 is directed onto the predetermined region(s)180 of layer 138. Typically, the focused beam 170 is provided bycoupling an energy source 160 with a mirror 150. In certain embodiments,the mirror 150 is a galvo mirror scanner. Both lasers and e-beam sourcesare capable of emitting a beam of energy. Suitable energy sources 160include for instance and without limitation, fiber lasers, CO₂ lasers,disk lasers, and solid state lasers, and a suitable e-beam (e.g.,electron beam) is available under the trade designations Arcam Q10plus,Arcam Q20plus, and Arcam A2 (Arcam AB, Molndal, Sweden).

Referring again to FIG. 6, the focused beam 170 (step 190) bondstogether the loose powder particles in at least one predetermined regionof the loose powder particles to form a layer of bonded powderparticles; for example, by selective metal sintering or selective lasermelting of the metallic particles.

The above steps are then repeated (step 185) with changes to the regionwhere the beam is focused according to a predetermined design resultingthrough repetition, layer on layer, in a three-dimensional (3-D)article. In each repetition, the loose powder particles may beindependently selected; that is, the loose powder particles may be thesame as, or different from those in adjacent deposited layers.

Additive manufacturing equipment suitable for practicing the presentdisclosure is commercially available, for example, from ReaLizer GmbH(Borchen, Germany), from EOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems (Krailling,Germany), or from 3D Systems (Rock Hill, S.C.), or from Trumpf(Ditzingen, Germany).

The burner body comprises the bonded powder particles and remainingloose powder particles and any support structures necessary to providemechanical and/or thermal support to the burner body as it is beingmanufactured. Once sufficient repetitions have been carried out to formthe burner body, it is preferably removed from the additivemanufacturing equipment and preferably separated from substantially all(e.g., at least 85 percent, at least 90 percent, preferably at least 95percent, and more preferably at least 99 percent) of the remaining loosepowder particles.

If desired, multiple particle reservoirs each containing a differentpowder may be used. Likewise, multiple different focused beams may beused, either from a common energy source or, preferably, throughseparate energy sources. The method can advantageously provide a usefulmetal burner body that does not require further processing.

In some embodiments, a (e.g., non-transitory) machine-readable medium isemployed in additive manufacturing of burner bodies according to atleast certain aspects of the present disclosure. Data is typicallystored on the machine-readable medium. The data represents athree-dimensional model of a burner body or a series of two dimensionalmodels, which when layered on top of one another comprise athree-dimensional model, which can be accessed by at least one computerprocessor interfacing with additive manufacturing equipment (e.g., a 3Dprinter, a manufacturing device, etc.). The data is used to cause theadditive manufacturing equipment to create the burner body. As usedherein, the term “three-dimensional model” refers to both one modelhaving three dimensions and two or more models each having twodimensions, which stacked on top of each other provide athree-dimensional model.

Data representing a burner body may be generated using computermodeling, such as computer aided design (CAD) data. Image datarepresenting the burner body design can be exported in STL format, or inany other suitable computer processable format, to the additivemanufacturing equipment. Scanning methods to scan a three-dimensionalobject may also be employed to create the data representing the burnerbody. One exemplary technique for acquiring the data is digital scanningAny other suitable scanning technique may be used for scanning anarticle, including X-ray radiography, laser scanning, computedtomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasoundimaging. Other possible scanning methods are described, e.g., in U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0031791 (Cinader, Jr., et al.).The initial digital data set, which may include both raw data fromscanning operations and data representing articles derived from the rawdata, can be processed to segment a burner body design from anysurrounding structures (e.g., a support for the burner body).

Often, machine-readable media are provided as part of a computingdevice. The computing device may have one or more processors, volatilememory (RAM), a device for reading machine-readable media, andinput/output devices, such as a display, a keyboard, and a pointingdevice. Further, a computing device may also include other software,firmware, or combinations thereof, such as an operating system and otherapplication software. A computing device may be, for example, aworkstation, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a server, amainframe or any other general-purpose or application-specific computingdevice. A computing device may read executable software instructionsfrom a computer-readable medium (such as a hard drive, a CD-ROM, or acomputer memory), or may receive instructions from another sourcelogically connected to computer, such as another networked computer.

Referring to FIG. 16, a computing device 1600 often includes an internalprocessor 1680, a display 1610 (e.g., a monitor), and one or more inputdevices such as a keyboard 1640 and a mouse 1620. In FIG. 16, a burnerbody 1630 is shown on the display 1610.

Referring to FIG. 12, in certain embodiments, the present disclosureprovides a system 1200. The system 1200 comprises a display 1220 thatdisplays a 3D model 1210 of an article (e.g., a burner body 1230 asshown on the display 1210 of FIG. 16); and one or more processors 1230that, in response to the 3D model 1210 selected by a user, cause a 3Dprinter/additive manufacturing device 1250 to create a physical objectof the article 1260. Often, an input device 1240 (e.g., keyboard and/ormouse) is employed with the display 1220 and the at least one processor1230, particularly for the user to select the 3D model 1210. The burnerbody 1260 comprises (1) a plurality of passageways; (2) a first majorsurface; (3) a plurality of ports at the first major surface, each portdefined by an end of one of the passageways; and either: (4a) at leastone heating element in or adjacent to at least one of the plurality ofpassageways that increases the temperature of a wall of the at least oneof the plurality of passageways; or (4b) a cooling chamber directlyadjacent to three or more of the plurality of passageways. The burnerbody comprises a number of layers of metal directly bonded to eachother.

Referring to FIG. 13, a processor 1320 (or more than one processor) isin communication with each of a machine-readable medium 1310 (e.g., anon-transitory medium), a 3D printer/additive manufacturing device 1340,and optionally a display 1330 for viewing by a user. The 3Dprinter/additive manufacturing device 1340 is configured to make one ormore articles 1350 based on instructions from the processor 1320providing data representing a 3D model of the article 1350 (i.e., aburner body, such as a burner body 1330 as shown on the display 1310 ofFIG. 16) from the machine-readable medium 1310.

Referring to FIG. 14, for example and without limitation, an additivemanufacturing method comprises retrieving 1410, from a (e.g.,non-transitory) machine-readable medium, data representing a 3D model ofan article according to at least one embodiment of the presentdisclosure (i.e., a burner body). The method further includes executing1420, by one or more processors, an additive manufacturing applicationinterfacing with a manufacturing device using the data; and generating1430, by the manufacturing device, a physical object of the article. Oneor more various optional post-processing steps 1440 may be undertaken,for instance and without limitation, support removal, heat treatment,polishing, and threading of pilot holes. For example and withoutlimitation, an additive manufacturing method comprises retrieving, froma (e.g., non-transitory) machine-readable medium, data representing a 3Dmodel of a burner body according to at least one embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The method further comprises executing, by one ormore processors, an additive manufacturing application interfacing witha manufacturing device using the data; and generating, by themanufacturing device, a physical object of the burner body. The additivemanufacturing equipment can selectively bond the powder particles (e.g.,metallic particles) according to a set of computerized designinstructions to create the desired burner body.

In certain embodiments, a method of making a burner body is provided.The method comprises receiving, by a manufacturing device having one ormore processors, a digital object comprising data specifying a pluralityof layers of a burner body; and generating, with the manufacturingdevice by an additive manufacturing process, the burner body based onthe digital object. The burner body comprises (1) a plurality ofpassageways; (2) a first major surface; (3) a plurality of ports at thefirst major surface, each port defined by an end of one of thepassageways; and either: (4a) at least one heating element in oradjacent to at least one of the plurality of passageways that increasesthe temperature of a wall of the at least one of the plurality ofpassageways; or (4b) a cooling chamber directly adjacent to three ormore of the plurality of passageways. The burner body comprises a numberof layers of metal directly bonded to each other.

Additionally, referring to FIG. 15, a method of making an article (i.e.,a burner body) comprises receiving 1510, by a manufacturing devicehaving one or more processors, a digital object comprising dataspecifying a plurality of layers of an article; and generating 1520,with the manufacturing device by an additive manufacturing process, thearticle based on the digital object. Again, the article may undergo oneor more steps of post-processing 1530.

Select Embodiments of the Present Disclosure

Embodiment 1 is a burner. The burner includes (a) a burner body and (b)at least one connector configured to supply at least a fuel and anoxidizer to the burner body. The burner body includes (1) a plurality ofpassageways; (2) a first major surface; (3) a plurality of ports at thefirst major surface, each port defined by an end of one of thepassageways; and either: (4a) at least one heating element in oradjacent to at least one of the plurality of passageways that increasesthe temperature of a wall of the at least one of the plurality ofpassageways; or (4b) a cooling chamber directly adjacent to three ormore of the plurality of passageways. The burner body includes a numberof layers of metal directly bonded to each other.

Embodiment 2 is the burner of embodiment 1, wherein the burner bodyincludes a plurality of columns of grains of metal.

Embodiment 3 is the burner of embodiment 1 or embodiment 2, wherein thecooling chamber is present and is located closer to the first majorsurface of the burner body than to an opposing major surface of theburner body.

Embodiment 4 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein thecooling chamber is present and surrounds three or more of the pluralityof passageways.

Embodiment 5 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 4, wherein thefirst major surface includes 2 or more rows of ports, preferably morethan 8 rows of ports.

Embodiment 6 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein atleast one of the plurality of passageways includes at least one portioneach having a bend, preferably at least two portions each having a bend.

Embodiment 7 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 6, wherein theburner body includes a curve or a stepped shape on a surface normal tothe first major surface.

Embodiment 8 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 7, wherein apattern of the plurality of ports at the first major surface issymmetrical.

Embodiment 9 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 8, wherein apattern of the plurality of ports at the first major surface isasymmetrical.

Embodiment 10 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 9, wherein themetal includes steel or a nickel alloy, preferably a nickel chromiumalloy.

Embodiment 11 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 10, wherein theat least one heating element is present and includes a metal, a ceramic,or a heating fluid.

Embodiment 12 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 11, wherein theat least one heating element is present and includes a metal having adifferent thermal conductivity than the wall of the at least one of theplurality of passageways.

Embodiment 13 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 12, wherein theat least one heating element is present and is directly attached to thewall of the at least one of the plurality of passageways.

Embodiment 14 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 13, wherein atleast one of the plurality of ports has a circular shape.

Embodiment 15 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 14, wherein atleast one of the plurality of ports has an elliptical shape.

Embodiment 16 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 15, wherein atleast one of the plurality of ports has a shape selected from arectangular shape, a rounded rectangular shape, or a star shape.

Embodiment 17 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 16, wherein theplurality of passageways has a length and a diameter, wherein thediameter is constant throughout the length of each of the plurality ofpassageways.

Embodiment 18 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 17, furtherincluding a mixture of at least fuel and oxidizer disposed within afirst passageway, and wherein the mixture flows through the firstpassageway to a first port.

Embodiment 19 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 18, furtherincluding a fuel disposed within a first passageway and an oxidizerdisposed within a second passageway, wherein the fuel flows through thefirst passageway to a first port and wherein the oxidizer flows throughthe second passageway to a second port.

Embodiment 20 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 19, furtherincluding a non-combustible and/or non-oxidizer component disposedwithin a third passageway, wherein the non-combustible component flowsthrough the third passageway to a third port.

Embodiment 21 is the burner of any of embodiments 1 to 20, furtherincluding a non-oxidizer and/or non-combustible component disposedwithin the first passageway, the second passageway, or both.

Embodiment 22 is a method of making a burner body of any of embodiments1 to 21. The method includes sequential steps, including (a) asubprocess including sequentially: (i) depositing a layer of loosepowder particles in a region, wherein the loose powder particles includemetallic particles and wherein the layer of loose powder particles hassubstantially uniform thickness; and (ii) selectively treating an areaof the layer of loose powder particles with irradiation by a focusedbeam to bond metallic particles together. The method further includes(b) independently carrying out step (a) a plurality of times to generatea burner body including the bonded powder particles and remaining loosepowder particles, wherein in each step (a), the loose powder particlesare independently selected. The method also includes (c) separatingsubstantially all of the remaining loose powder particles from theburner body.

Embodiment 23 is the method of embodiment 22, wherein the metallicparticles include steel or a nickel alloy, preferably a nickel chromiumalloy, more preferably a nickel chromium iron alloy.

Embodiment 24 is a non-transitory machine-readable medium. Thenon-transitory medium has data representing a three-dimensional model ofa burner body, when accessed by one or more processors interfacing witha 3D printer, cause the 3D printer to create the burner body. The burnerbody includes (1) a plurality of passageways; (2) a first major surface;(3) a plurality of ports at the first major surface, each port definedby an end of one of the passageways; and either: (4a) at least oneheating element in or adjacent to at least one of the plurality ofpassageways that increases the temperature of a wall of the at least oneof the plurality of passageways; or (4b) a cooling chamber directlyadjacent to three or more of the plurality of passageways. The burnerbody includes a number of layers of metal directly bonded to each other.

Embodiment 25 is a method. The method includes (a) retrieving, from anon-transitory machine-readable medium, data representing a 3D model ofa burner body; (b) executing, by one or more processors, a 3D printingapplication interfacing with a manufacturing device using the data; and(c) generating, by the manufacturing device, a physical object of theburner body. The burner body includes (1) a plurality of passageways;(2) a first major surface; (3) a plurality of ports at the first majorsurface, each port defined by an end of one of the passageways; andeither: (4a) at least one heating element in or adjacent to at least oneof the plurality of passageways that increases the temperature of a wallof the at least one of the plurality of passageways; or (4b) a coolingchamber directly adjacent to three or more of the plurality ofpassageways. The burner body includes a number of layers of metaldirectly bonded to each other.

Embodiment 26 is a burner body generated using the method of embodiment25.

Embodiment 27 is a method of forming a burner body. The method includes(a) receiving, by a manufacturing device having one or more processors,a digital object comprising data specifying a plurality of layers of aburner body; and (b) generating, with the manufacturing device by anadditive manufacturing process, the burner body based on the digitalobject. The burner body includes (1) a plurality of passageways; (2) afirst major surface; (3) a plurality of ports at the first majorsurface, each port defined by an end of one of the passageways; andeither: (4a) at least one heating element in or adjacent to at least oneof the plurality of passageways that increases the temperature of a wallof the at least one of the plurality of passageways; or (4b) a coolingchamber directly adjacent to three or more of the plurality ofpassageways. The burner body includes a number of layers of metaldirectly bonded to each other.

Embodiment 28 is the method of embodiment 27, wherein the additivemanufacturing process includes sequential steps including (a) asubprocess including sequentially: (i) depositing a layer of loosepowder particles in a region, wherein the loose powder particles includemetallic particles and wherein the layer of loose powder particles hassubstantially uniform thickness; and (ii) selectively treating an areaof the layer of loose powder particles with irradiation by a focusedbeam to bond metallic particles together. The method further includes(b) independently carrying out step (a) a plurality of times to generatea burner body comprising the bonded powder particles and remaining loosepowder particles, wherein in each step (a), the loose powder particlesare independently selected. The method also includes (c) separatingsubstantially all of the remaining loose powder particles from theburner body.

Embodiment 29 is the method of embodiment 28, further including c)separating substantially all of the remaining loose powder particlesfrom the burner body.

Embodiment 30 is a system. The system includes (a) a display thatdisplays a 3D model of a burner body; and (b) one or more processorsthat, in response to the 3D model selected by a user, cause a 3D printerto create a physical object of the burner body. The burner body includes(1) a plurality of passageways; (2) a first major surface; (3) aplurality of ports at the first major surface, each port defined by anend of one of the passageways; and either: (4a) at least one heatingelement in or adjacent to at least one of the plurality of passagewaysthat increases the temperature of a wall of the at least one of theplurality of passageways; or (4b) a cooling chamber directly adjacent tothree or more of the plurality of passageways. The burner body includesa number of layers of metal directly bonded to each other.

Objects and advantages of this disclosure are further illustrated by thefollowing non-limiting examples, but the particular materials andamounts thereof recited in these examples, as well as other conditionsand details, should not be construed to unduly limit this disclosure.

EXAMPLES

Unless otherwise noted or apparent from the context, all parts,percentages, ratios, etc. in the Examples and the rest of thespecification are by weight. In the Examples: ° C.=degrees Celsius,g=grams, min=minute, mm=millimeter, and rpm=revolutions per minute.

Examples Equations

$\begin{matrix}{{{Burner}\mspace{14mu}{{power}\left( \frac{BTU}{{hr} - {inch}} \right)}} = {\frac{\begin{matrix}{{fuel}\mspace{14mu}{volume}\mspace{14mu}{burned}\left( \frac{{ft}^{3}}{hr} \right) \times} \\{{heat}\mspace{14mu}{content}\mspace{14mu}{of}\mspace{14mu}{fuel}\mspace{14mu}\left( \frac{BTU}{{ft}^{3}} \right)}\end{matrix}}{{Length}\mspace{14mu}{of}\mspace{14mu}{the}\mspace{14mu}{burner}\mspace{14mu}({inch})}.}} & {{Equation}\mspace{20mu} 1} \\{{{Equivalence}\mspace{14mu}{Ratio}\mspace{14mu}(\phi)} = {\frac{\left\lbrack \frac{oxidizer}{fuel} \right\rbrack_{stoichiometric}}{\left\lbrack \frac{oxidizer}{fuel} \right\rbrack_{actual}}.}} & {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 2}\end{matrix}$

The burner bodies were prepared from CAD drawings using 17-4 PHstainless steel powder (Sandvik Osprey, Neath, United Kingdom) and aProX DMP 200 printer (3D printing Systems, Rock Hill, S.C.). The burnerbodies were printed with a 30 micrometer layer height and 50 micrometerhatch spacing using a fiber laser with a 1070 nm wavelength, 2500mm/second laser speed, and power of 240 W.

Example 1

The printed burner body was in the form of a rectangular frame with topand bottom wall surfaces (external dimensions: 10.3 cm x-direction, 1.9cm y-direction) and connecting side wall surfaces (external dimensions:1.9 cm y-direction, 2.2 cm z-direction). The surfaces were about 2 mmthick. The interior of the frame was composed of 296 hollow tubes thatserved as passageways and terminated in open-hole ports on both the topand bottom surfaces. Each passageway and corresponding port opening hada circular cross-section with an internal diameter of 1.57 mm that wasconstant throughout the passageway. The thickness of each tube wall was0.3 mm. The passageways were arranged in a symmetrical pattern of 8 rowswith each row containing 37 passageways (spaced along the x-direction).Within each row, the center-to-center spacing of each port in the rowwas 2.6 mm. The first passageways in adjacent rows were offset by half aspacing so that the corresponding passageways (and ports) in rows 1, 3,5, and 7 were in linear alignment with each other and the correspondingpassageways (and ports) in rows 2, 4, 6, and 8 were in linear alignmentwith each other. The closest distance (center-to-center) between portsof adjacent rows was 2.1 mm.

The printed burner body was secured in the opening of an aluminum burnermanifold that had an internal cavity (dimensions (9.8 cm x-direction,3.9 cm y-direction, 2.8 cm z-direction) positioned directly below theopening containing the printed burner body. The printed burner body wasoriented in the opening so that the ports on the bottom surface facedand were in fluid communication with the internal cavity. The cavity ofthe manifold was connected to a fuel source through a copper tubefitting (1.9 cm diameter) positioned in a side wall of the manifold. Thefuel was propane, supplied in a compressed-gas cylinder. The oxidizerwas compressed air. The propane gas and the air flow rate were suppliedto the burner using a portable gas controller unit. The propane and airflow rates were adjusted using needle valves and gas flowmeters.Operational conditions for the burner are presented in Table 1.

Example 2

The printed burner body was in the form of a rectangular frame with topand bottom wall surfaces (external dimensions: 10.3 cm x-direction, 1.9cm y-direction) and connecting side wall surfaces (external dimensions:2.2 cm z-direction, 1.9 cm y-direction). The surfaces were about 2 mmthick. The interior of the frame was composed of 296 hollow tubes thatserved as passageways and terminated in open-hole ports on both the topand bottom surfaces. Each passageway and corresponding port opening hada circular cross-section with an internal diameter of 1.31 mm that wasconstant throughout the passageway. The thickness of each tube wall was0.3 mm. The passageways were arranged in a symmetrical pattern of 8 rowswith each row containing 37 passageways (spaced along the x-direction).Within each row, the center-to-center spacing of each port in the rowwas 2.6 mm. The first passageways in adjacent rows were offset by half aspacing so that the corresponding passageways (and ports) in rows 1, 3,5, and 7 were in linear alignment with each other and the correspondingpassageways (and ports) in rows 2, 4, 6, and 8 were in linear alignmentwith each other. The closest distance (center-to-center) between portsof adjacent rows was 2.1 mm.

The printed burner body was secured in the opening of an aluminum burnermanifold that had an internal cavity (dimensions: 9.8 cm x-direction,3.9 cm y-direction, 2.8 cm z-direction) positioned directly below theopening containing the printed burner body. The printed burner body wasoriented in the opening so that the ports on the bottom surface facedand were in fluid communication with the internal cavity. The cavity ofthe manifold was connected to a fuel source through a copper tubefitting (1.9 cm diameter) positioned in a side wall of the manifold. Thecombustible mixture was supplied in the same manner as in Example 1.Operational conditions for the burner are presented in Table 1.

Example 3

The printed burner body was in the form of a rectangular frame with topand bottom wall surfaces (external dimensions: 10.3 cm x-direction, 1.9cm y-direction) and connecting side wall surfaces (external dimensions:2.2 cm z-direction, 1.9 cm y-direction). The surfaces were about 2 mmthick. The interior of the frame was composed of 296 hollow tubes withthat served as passageways and terminated in open-hole ports on both thetop and bottom surfaces. Each passageway and corresponding port openinghad an elliptical shaped cross section (internal dimensions: major axisof 1.64 mm and minor axis of 1.05 mm) that was constant throughout thepassageway. The thickness of each tube wall was 0.3 mm. The passagewayswere arranged in a symmetrical pattern of 8 rows with each rowcontaining 37 passageways (spaced along the x-direction). The ports wereoriented to have the major axis of each port aligned in the X-direction.Within each row, the center-to-center spacing of each port in the rowwas 2.6 mm. The first passageways in adjacent rows were offset by half aspacing so that the corresponding passageways (and ports) in rows 1, 3,5, and 7 were in linear alignment with each other and the correspondingpassageways (and ports) in rows 2, 4, 6, and 8 were in linear alignmentwith each other. The closest distance (center-to-center) between portsof adjacent rows was 2.1 mm.

The printed burner body was secured in the opening of an aluminum burnermanifold that had an internal cavity (dimensions (9.8 cm x-direction,3.9 cm y-direction, 2.8 cm z-direction) positioned directly below theopening containing the printed burner body. The printed burner body wasoriented in the opening so that the ports on the bottom surface facedand were in fluid communication with the internal cavity. The cavity ofthe manifold was connected to a fuel source through a copper tubefitting (1.9 cm diameter) positioned in a side wall of the manifold. Thecombustible mixture was supplied in the same manner as in Example 1.Operational conditions for the burner are presented in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Port Burner Power Equivalence Burner of Shape Port Dimensions(BTU/hour/inch) Ratio Flame Example 1 circle 1.57 mm (diameter) 40000.96 anchored Example 1 circle 1.57 mm (diameter) 7710 0.96 anchoredExample 1 circle 1.57 mm (diameter) 9637 0.85 anchored Example 2 circle1.31 mm (diameter) 4818 1.10 not anchored (unstable) Example 3 ellipse1.64 mm (major 5011 1.15 not anchored axis), (unstable) 1.05 mm (minoraxis)

Example 4

The printed burner body was in the form of a rectangular frame with topand bottom wall surfaces (external dimensions: 10.3 cm x-direction, 1.9cm y-direction) and connecting side wall surfaces (external dimensions:1.9 cm y-direction, 2.2 cm z-direction). The surfaces were about 2 mmthick. The interior of the frame was composed of 296 hollow tubes thatserved as passageways and terminated in open-hole ports on both the topand bottom surfaces. Each passageway and corresponding port opening hada circular cross-section with an internal diameter of 1.57 mm that wasconstant throughout the passageway. The thickness of each tube wall was0.3 mm. The passageways were arranged in a symmetrical pattern of 8 rowswith each row containing 37 passageways (spaced along the x-direction).Within each row, the center-to-center spacing of each port in the rowwas 2.6 mm. The first passageways in adjacent rows were offset by half aspacing so that the corresponding passageways (and ports) in rows 1, 3,5, and 7 were in linear alignment with each other and the correspondingpassageways (and ports) in rows 2, 4, 6, and 8 were in linear alignmentwith each other. The closest distance (center-to-center) between portsof adjacent rows was 2.1 mm.

The printed burner body was secured in the opening of an aluminum burnermanifold that had an internal cavity (dimensions (9.8 cm x-direction,3.9 cm y-direction, 2.8 cm z-direction) positioned directly below theopening containing the printed burner body. The printed burner body wasoriented in the opening so that the ports on the bottom surface facedand were in fluid communication with the internal cavity. The cavity ofthe manifold was connected to a PYROSIL GVE2 HB silicon dioxide coatingdevice (SURA Instruments GmbH, Jenna, Germany) through a copper tubefitting (1.9 cm diameter) positioned in a side wall of the manifold. Thecoating device included two pressurized canisters each containing amixture of PYROSIL silicon-containing precursor material and liquifiedfuel (SURA Instruments GmbH). The canisters were attached to a gas flowassembly with on/off valves and pressure gauge. The tube exiting the gasflow assembly was connected to the burner. In operation, a stable flamecontaining PYROSIL gases was observed.

While the specification has described in detail certain exemplaryembodiments, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, uponattaining an understanding of the foregoing, may readily conceive ofalterations to, variations of, and equivalents to these embodiments.Accordingly, it should be understood that this disclosure is not to beunduly limited to the illustrative embodiments set forth hereinabove.

All cited references, patents, and patent applications in the aboveapplication for letters patent are herein incorporated by reference intheir entirety in a consistent manner. In the event of inconsistenciesor contradictions between portions of the incorporated references andthis application, the information in the preceding description shallcontrol. The preceding description, given in order to enable one ofordinary skill in the art to practice the claimed disclosure, is not tobe construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure, which is definedby the claims and all equivalents thereto.

1. A burner comprising: a) burner body comprising: 1) a plurality ofpassageways; 2) a first major surface; 3) a plurality of ports at thefirst major surface, each port defined by an end of one of thepassageways; and either: 4a) at least one heating element in or adjacentto at least one of the plurality of passageways that increases thetemperature of a wall of the at least one of the plurality ofpassageways; or 4b) a cooling chamber directly adjacent to three or moreof the plurality of passageways; wherein the burner body comprises aplurality of layers of metal directly bonded to each other; and b) atleast one connector configured to supply at least a fuel and an oxidizerto the burner body.
 2. The burner of claim 1, wherein the burner bodycomprises a plurality of columns of grains of metal.
 3. The burner ofclaim 1, wherein the cooling chamber is present and is located closer tothe first major surface of the burner body than to an opposing majorsurface of the burner body.
 4. The burner of claim 1, wherein thecooling chamber is present and surrounds three or more of the pluralityof passageways.
 5. The burner of claim 1, to wherein the first majorsurface 8 or more rows of ports.
 6. The burner of claim 1, wherein apattern of the plurality of ports at the first major surface isasymmetrical.
 7. The burner of claim 1, wherein the metal comprisessteel or a nickel alloy, preferably a nickel chromium alloy.
 8. Theburner of claim 1, wherein the at least one heating element is presentand comprises a metal, a ceramic, or a heating fluid.
 9. The burner ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one heating element is present and isdirectly attached to the wall of the at least one of the plurality ofpassageways.
 10. A method of making a burner body of claim 1, the methodcomprising sequential steps: a) a subprocess comprising sequentially: i)depositing a layer of loose powder particles in a region, wherein theloose powder particles comprise metallic particles and wherein the layerof loose powder particles has substantially uniform thickness; ii)selectively treating an area of the layer of loose powder particles withirradiation by a focused beam to bond metallic particles together; b)independently carrying out step a) a plurality of times to generate aburner body comprising the bonded powder particles and remaining loosepowder particles, wherein in each step a), the loose powder particlesare independently selected; and c) separating substantially all of theremaining loose powder particles from the burner body.
 11. Anon-transitory machine-readable medium having data representing athree-dimensional model of a burner body, when accessed by one or moreprocessors interfacing with a 3D printer, cause the 3D printer to createthe burner body comprising: 1) a plurality of passageways; 2) a firstmajor surface; 3) a plurality of ports at the first major surface, eachport defined by an end of one of the passageways; and either: 4a) atleast one heating element in or adjacent to at least one of theplurality of passageways that increases the temperature of a wall of theat least one of the plurality of passageways; or 4b) a cooling chamberdirectly adjacent to three or more of the plurality of passageways;wherein the burner body comprises a plurality of layers of metaldirectly bonded to each other.
 12. A method, comprising: retrieving,from a non-transitory machine-readable medium, data representing a 3Dmodel of a burner body, the burner body comprising: 1) a plurality ofpassageways; 2) a first major surface; 3) a plurality of ports at thefirst major surface, each port defined by an end of one of thepassageways; and either: 4a) at least one heating element in or adjacentto at least one of the plurality of passageways that increases thetemperature of a wall of the at least one of the plurality ofpassageways; or 4b) a cooling chamber directly adjacent to three or moreof the plurality of passageways; wherein the burner body comprises aplurality of layers of metal directly bonded to each other; executing,by one or more processors, a 3D printing application interfacing with amanufacturing device using the data; and generating, by themanufacturing device, a physical object of the burner body.
 13. A burnerbody generated using the method of claim
 12. 14. A method of forming aburner body, the method comprising: receiving, by a manufacturing devicehaving one or more processors, a digital object comprising dataspecifying a plurality of layers of a burner body, the burner bodycomprising: 1) a plurality of passageways; 2) a first major surface; 3)a plurality of ports at the first major surface, each port defined by anend of one of the passageways; and either: 4a) at least one heatingelement in or adjacent to at least one of the plurality of passagewaysthat increases the temperature of a wall of the at least one of theplurality of passageways; or 4b) a cooling chamber directly adjacent tothree or more of the plurality of passageways; wherein the burner bodycomprises a plurality of layers of metal directly bonded to each other;and generating, with the manufacturing device by an additivemanufacturing process, the burner body based on the digital object. 15.A system comprising: a display that displays a 3D model of a burnerbody; and one or more processors that, in response to the 3D modelselected by a user, cause a 3D printer to create a physical object ofthe burner body, the burner body comprising: 1) a plurality ofpassageways; 2) a first major surface; 3) a plurality of ports at thefirst major surface, each port defined by an end of one of thepassageways; and either: 4a) at least one heating element in or adjacentto at least one of the plurality of passageways that increases thetemperature of a wall of the at least one of the plurality ofpassageways; or 4b) a cooling chamber directly adjacent to three or moreof the plurality of passageways; wherein the burner body comprises aplurality of layers of metal directly bonded to each other.